# Keeping pipe lit



## mhsrunner

I have a few questions to see if I am smoking right and any aspects of my pipe smoking that I need to change. I pack the way it says in the faq, and think I have that down, however I can only keep the pipe lit for about 5 minutes at a time. After this I have to relight and its another 5 minutes until it pretty well goes out again. Are there other people out there who have to relight a few times over the course of a complete smoke? Is this often times normal? Right now I just dump out the burnt ash when it goes out and relight the untouched tobacco. The other issue I have is in regards to tamping. When I get about half the the bowl burnt i try to tamp to get the embers to burn the lower tobacco. All this seems to do is crush all of the ash into a top layer that oxygen can't get through, and thus the tobacco goes out. Any advice on changing the way I tamp? Thanks.


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## Will_S

Make sure your tobacco is not too wet and that you arent packing too tightly.

Don't tamp too hard. Just the weight of the tamper or a little more should be enough. Its ok to dump ashes periodically. Stir at the bottom of the bowl to loosen up the tobacco so you can burn it all

Practice makes perfect.

Get used to relights. After almost 2 years of pipe smoking I can easily average 10 relights per bowl. Could be I'm just inept.


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## ssutton219

Everyone is a lil different and I have to relight all the time (still very new to pipes) and as for tamping..umm well...I dont know..I still have problems..all I know is that I have been told to keep trying.....and I am loving it.



Shawn


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## Bridges

Make sure the tobac isn't too wet. I had the same problem then I let it dry out a little and it smoked great. Also I've found that a torch lighter works really well. (Lights it better and faster, gets the fire deeper) The only problem with a torch is that it will burn your pipe real quick. (I've been using a $5 cob so it doesn't bother me) Also you might try doing a youtube search on packing a pipe at youtube.com. There's one with an old German guy that's very helpful. Hope this helps.p


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## kvm

I'm just coming back to pipes myself but many things come into play as has already been posted. How you pack... how much you dry the tobacco...how often you puff and tamp and so on. I think everyone really develops their own technique. No hard fast rules. It takes time. Make adjustments a step at a time. Your packing your drying your tamping....You'll find what works for you.


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## JohnnyFlake

Everything that's important has been mentioned, and it's all good information.

The one thing that is most important, is the moisture content of the tobacco. Even if your not the best at packing yet, and your still learning how to tamp properly, if the tobacco is dry enough, the pipe should rarely go out! For a good smoke, the tobacco should be, very much, on the dry side!


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## Mister Moo

1) Golf: first lesson at the driving range. Everyone wants the big wood and clobbers the ball like there's no tomorrow. Most guys don't consider chopping Buick-sized divets from the earth is not the best way to start.

2) Pipes: we want to fill them to the top and commence puffing on day one. 

3) Business: it's always easier to lower a price down than to raise it back up. 

4) Combine 1-3: It's all the same with pipes, only different. 

Wet tobak aside, my relight breakthrough was discovering the addage, "Don't pack the tobacco so tight, dummy." It's way easy to pack tobacco a bit loose and correct with a (very light) tamp (or two or three or four light tamps) than it is to unclog a pipe or open up the draw. Breaking in a couple of new pipes with that tried-and-true1/3 starter pack recommendation was how I finally got accustomed to correct packing and the associated benefits. 

When I got that first 1/3-fill to smoke correctly it was easy to build on the right touch with the next 1/3, etc. Now it's happy sledding without much (if any) relighting and ash to the bottom. A pipe 1/3 filled is a place where you can learn a lot, fast, if you're paying attention. When you get a one-third filled pipe to burn without relights, you're almost home free.


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## Mad Hatter

Mister Moo said:


> 1) Wet tobak aside, my relight breakthrough was discovering the addage, "Don't pack the tobacco so tight, dummy." It's way easy to pack tobacco a bit loose and correct with a (very light) tamp (or two or three or four light tamps) than it is to unclog a pipe or open up the draw. Breaking in a couple of new pipes with that tried-and-true1/3 starter pack recommendation was how I finally got accustomed to correct packing and the associated benefits.
> 
> When I got that first 1/3-fill to smoke correctly it was easy to build on the right touch with the next 1/3, etc. Now it's happy sledding without much (if any) relighting and ash to the bottom. A pipe 1/3 filled is a place where you can learn a lot, fast, if you're paying attention. When you get at a one-third filled pipe to burn without relights, you're almost home free.


What he said, plus (with no intent to improve upon perfection) if your pipe isn't broken in it can be a big problem too


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## fox

I know this is an older thread, and I am a new pipe smoker, but one piece of advice that helped me immediately was to go gently on drawing the smoke.

It's easy to want to puff too hard, and it's easy to fall into the misconception that puffing harder = pulling more oxygen into the fire = keeping the pipe lit. It doesn't seem to work that way. Someone used the word "sip" for the amount of pull you should put on the pipe: take small, gentle, rhythmical sips of smoke from the stem, don't pull it out in great puffs, and don't puff too constantly (or too seldom). I also like this because it allows me to roll the smoke to specific areas of the tongue, concentrating on that taste for the fullest enjoyment of flavor, instead of filling the mouth with smoke, where I don't get to control the experience as much. I know I'm pulling too hard and/or too often if the bowl gets hot.

Also, sometimes when I think the fire has gone out, I try stirring (which has been mentioned in other posts) and suddenly it comes back to life. A light little tamp and I'm good to go a while longer. I've been pipe smoking for less than a week but have reduced relights to just a couple of times per bowl as long as I remember to sip, not suck.


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## MontyTheMooch

LOL. My "Ah HA!" moment was Dan (Hardcz) mentioning in a post that when you tamp what you're really doing is pushing the coal downwards into the unlit tobacco. After that reminder I find that I tamp a LOT less. This means that, assuming my initial pack was decent, I'm not getting really wet tobacco and I find that I'm really only tamping when the smoke starts to thin out. A light tamp/puff and I'm off and running again. Relights are GOING to happen, but I've found that some tobaccos just stay lit and cruise to the bottom of the bowl (Prince Albert, Proper English, Some other nameless English I have).


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## FWTX

OK - I know resurrecting threads is uncool -sometimes - but I''m in the same boat!
mikebjrtx just gifted me a starter cob, tool, cleaners and several blends to try (thanks again Mike!) - and i bought some Borkum to break it in and not waste the good stuff and I need help too.
the first bowl went pretty well considering it was damp, but the bowl, half full lasted about ten minutes and got H O T.
I let it dry a little and tried a half bowl - major fiasco on all levels - tasted harsh and dumped out half burned stuff... relighting not knowing if I should or not, I mean it's out but how long to torch? until the tip melts? YIKES - true noob, but I'm trying dammit...


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## Kevin Keith

Ken it probably all seems kinda like alchemy, but it's not. Pack the pipe light, ie, don't compress too much; fire up the bowl. Use a soft flame if you can, no torch; puff a few and lightly tamp it down and fire it up again. Don't crush while you're tamping it; draw on the pipe at the same time. This usually gets me to the bottom, no relights. Try a non aromatic blend like PA. It's gonna be drier.


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## Andrewdk

Your first problem was smoking borkum damn that stuff is nasty. Ten minutes is way too fast either you were puffin like a steam engine or the pack was super light. Get some PA sprinkle baccy in (gravity fill) till about 3/4 fill then top with a good pinch/wad of baccy. Pack will be just right (credit to freestoke for the method).

Always remember anything wet needs to dry first, wet anything does not burn so great.


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## freestoke

Mister Moo said:


> When I got that first 1/3-fill to smoke correctly it was easy to build on the right touch with the next 1/3, etc. Now it's happy sledding without much (if any) relighting and ash to the bottom. A pipe 1/3 filled is a place where you can learn a lot, fast, if you're paying attention. When you get a one-third filled pipe to burn without relights, you're almost home free.


With the spot-on golf analogy lead in, this strikes me as an amazingly original piece of advice in the pipe world. The fastest way to learn to hit a golf ball (or improve), is to hit half shots as easily as you can, as perfectly as you can, and the idea that the way to learn to keep a pipe lit is to practice on the easier activity of getting through a partial bowl rather than enduring an hour fighting with your pipe is simply brilliant. Of course we've all heard that advice for breaking in a pipe, but it should be front and center for breaking in a new piper, too!


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## El wedo del milagro

If the tobacco is both dry enough and packed well, then tamping shouldn't even come into play until it's 40% or 50% down.

After that one will tamp more based on type of tobacco and the shape of a bowl... a bowl that goes down into a pointy or conical bottom will get wet and "crusty" fast and need more tamping.

The "cherry" in the bowl burns all around it... above it is insulating ash, to the sides are the sides of the pipe and the reason not to puff too fast (I learned that lesson twice back in the 80's burning out two pipes), below is the tobacco. BUT as the cherry burns below it, a layer of insulating ash builds up. Tamping collapses the layer of ash between the cherry and the tobacco. If one tamps too hard the cherry is crushed and becomes a hard charred layer that is quite hard to get re-lit, and makes for a horrible draw. if one tamps too lightly, only the top layer of ash is compressed, and the cherry isn't in contact with fresh tobacco.

My suggestion to anyone having problems with tamping is to press softly until a tiny "crunch" is felt and heard. It should only compress a few mm. The volume of smoke should instantly increase, and the draw shouldn't be tight. (A very light, fluffy, fast burning tobacco (like PA) will tamp down more than the couple mm, but if one pays attention one can still tell the difference in the sound and "feel" between a tamp and a crush.


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## longburn

Besides your method of packing the bowl it depends on the type of tobacco your smoking for one, the moisture of the tobacco and the humidity in the air as well as the type of pipe your using. Flake is sometimes a bit harder than say ribbon cut depending on how you rub it out. Also the moisture content especially on some of the steam pressed varieties can effect the smoking exsperience. I usually use what's known as the "Frank" method and you can see a demonstration of it on youtube or a similar method like this... I basically let the first pinch of tobacco simply drop into the bowl and only it's own weight is all that tamps it. The second pinch I very lightly push it in with my finger, just enough to get it in the bowl. The third pinch I tamp it down fairly firmly with my thumb or first finger but I try not to push too much on the tobacco in the middle of the bowl. Instead I concentrate on tamping it down around the sides of the bowl.

I then offer up a charring light....and I keep a charring light while inhaleing until I see the tobacco in the bowl "grow" and "rise". I then take my tamper and only using it's weight I tamp that tobacco just so it's back below the rim again. The next light is the real light. I try to light all portions of the bowl as soon as I get a good glow I put my palm or a couple of fingers over the bowl while inhaleing a couple of times in order to get the ember down into the bowl further. You can also use this trick if your bowl is starting to go out a bit and it will revive it greatly.

Also, it seems to help instead of simply inhaleing to gently pull in air through both the stem of the pipe and the opened corner of your mouth at the same time for some reason,I also found you also get a lot more flavor sensations inhaleing that way for some reason.

But, it's pretty normal to need a couple re lights during the course of smoking a bowl. I would guess I probably average 3 re lights per bowl on average and sometimes as high as 6 or 7. And I probably smoke a whole bowl off of one light maybe once out of every 6 or 8 bowls.


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## fox

That's an excellent explanation! Thank you. That helps a lot. Apparently I've been tamping correctly, heh.



El wedo del milagro said:


> If the tobacco is both dry enough and packed well, then tamping shouldn't even come into play until it's 40% or 50% down.
> 
> After that one will tamp more based on type of tobacco and the shape of a bowl... a bowl that goes down into a pointy or conical bottom will get wet and "crusty" fast and need more tamping.
> 
> The "cherry" in the bowl burns all around it... above it is insulating ash, to the sides are the sides of the pipe and the reason not to puff too fast (I learned that lesson twice back in the 80's burning out two pipes), below is the tobacco. BUT as the cherry burns below it, a layer of insulating ash builds up. Tamping collapses the layer of ash between the cherry and the tobacco. If one tamps too hard the cherry is crushed and becomes a hard charred layer that is quite hard to get re-lit, and makes for a horrible draw. if one tamps too lightly, only the top layer of ash is compressed, and the cherry isn't in contact with fresh tobacco.
> 
> My suggestion to anyone having problems with tamping is to press softly until a tiny "crunch" is felt and heard. It should only compress a few mm. The volume of smoke should instantly increase, and the draw shouldn't be tight. (A very light, fluffy, fast burning tobacco (like PA) will tamp down more than the couple mm, but if one pays attention one can still tell the difference in the sound and "feel" between a tamp and a crush.


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## fox

Thanks, longburn! Your entire post was also very---um, pardon the pun, enlightening... but, me being a sheer noob, what does "depending on how you rub it out" mean?



longburn said:


> Besides your method of packing the bowl it depends on the type of tobacco your smoking for one, the moisture of the tobacco and the humidity in the air as well as the type of pipe your using. Flake is sometimes a bit harder than say ribbon cut depending on how you rub it out.


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## El wedo del milagro

A flake can be "rubbed out" between yer hands turning it from a compressed flake into smaller, fluffier ribbons.

A flake will taste and smoke differently in flake form and when "rubbed out". In flake form it will be harder to light, but usually gives a dense smoke and strong flavor once it's going good. "Rubbed out" flake will be easier to light, and stay lit more easily, and will have a lighter flavor... sometimes even a different flavor.


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## Desertlifter

Lots of good advice in this thread, to which I would only add.....I pack much less densely than I used to. MUCH less. I might relight once a bowl, but often not.

I am starting to think that it really comes down to a combination of things. Lots of potential independent variables in this little experiment:


Pipe shape - surface area, tobacco depth, bowl shape - all of these things will alter or otherwise shift the movement (if you will) of the potential gradient of airflow and combustion within the chamber.
Pipe size - the volume of the bowl adds to/changes the above. Not all apples/princes/Dublins are the same, let alone freehands
Tobacco type - origin of leaf, density of leaf, sugars and carbon content (fuel load), thickness of leaf, and type of cut (flake, cube cut, shag, plug, rope, ribbon....)
Tobacco blend - percentages of VAs, perique, burleys, cavendish, latakia - I know that some of these are similar (or even the same), but presentation could well adjust burn quality, temperature, and rate.
Tobacco residual humidity
Humidity of environment in which pipe is smoked
Duration of puffs by smoker - How long do you puff, and how long between puffs?
Volume of puffs by smoker - how much air are you moving through the pipe?

The combination of these variables should work in concert to affect the burn rate of tobacco in your pipe, and rate/number of relights in a bowl as well. This means that if I give my BEST advice for keeping one's pipe lit, it will likely work best for the conditions in which I am smoking. How I pack my bowl and puff away on my pipe might not work as well with a large freehand or small prince in a high humidity environment as it would with more similar conditions. I started out using the three-step method, and it worked well enough, albeit with 3-4 relights in every bowl.

Nowadays I have far fewer relights as mentioned above, however I pack my pipe very differently - quite loosely overall. I tamp with a pipe nail far more than I used to, but it burns like a champ. Practice, experience, and knowing how _you_ get things done seems to make the biggest difference.

YMMV, but good luck!


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## BigKev77

Everyone has given advice so I will too. I was told the answer to 99% of problems while learning to smoke and beyond will always be...

Drier baccy
lighter pack
tamp less 
smoke slower

It worked great for me once I realized that they really meant...

DRIER BACCY!
LIGHTER PACK!
TAMP LESS!
SMOKE SLOWER!


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## freestoke

BigKev77 said:


> It worked great for me once I realized that they really meant...
> 
> DRIER BACCY!
> LIGHTER PACK!
> TAMP LESS!
> SMOKE SLOWER!


:biglaugh: Took me almost 50 years to figure it out! I had the three stage down to a science and smoked ala slow smoke competitions when I had the time, but I went to partial bowls early on, in the vein of Mister Moo's advice above, and was prone to "cheat" and not pack my bowl quite as tight as I thought "proper" pipe smoking demanded. It wasn't until I hit the pipe forums that I discovered that there might be another way of doing things, e.g., the Frank Method and the cannonball. And that Prince Albert, SWR, and Carter Hall were even smokable. :lol:

I'll add one more thing to this list -- learn to damp with your fingers over the bowl. It's actually possible to smoke a three stage to the bottom without a relight if you get the damping in action early and rebuild the ember before things get critical.

.
.
.
.
DAMP THE AIRFLOW WHEN THE EMBER GETS WEAK


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## TheRooster

I did not know about damping the airflow...


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## freestoke

TheRooster said:


> I did not know about damping the airflow...


It's pretty simple and very effective. I haven't figured out the mechanics of why it happens, but it works. Put two fingers over the bowl, limiting the airflow and just let a little in. You can draw pretty hard without getting a lot of air and it doesn't fire down the barrel with hat exhaust right on your tongue, the way puffing it up would. You can get copious amounts of smoke going with not much effort and the pipe doesn't heat up as much. Usually, you have to use the tamper too to make it work well.


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## TheRooster

I imagine it's the same principle as properly adjusting a flue on a chimney or anything else... Too much air is as bad for a fire as not enough. I've come to realize this is part of my problem keeping my pipe lit. When I feel it going out I tend to overpuff in an attempt to relight it, but I'm really just sort of blowing it out like you would a candle.


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## Smoke King David

The advice given is really spot-on. Plus, I suggest never using a torch lighter when pipe smoking, even on an inexpensive briar or a cob. More power/a hot torch is not the answer. Patience, drying the tobacco, and packing loosely were the tips that helped me the most.


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## BigKev77

Restricting airflow increases air velocity so you have a smaller amount of air moving really fast. It does work wonders for stoking the embers back to life. Freestoke has 50 years of pipe smoking experience!! This fellow has forgotten more about pipe smoking than I know. Listen to what he tells you for sure.


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## freestoke

BigKev77 said:


> Restricting airflow increases air velocity so you have a smaller amount of air moving really fast.


I think you've got that one right, Big. Moving the places where the air enters the bowl, by moving your fingers ever so slightly while you draw, no doubt changes where the jets are hitting the ember and makes in grow. Tapping the fingers on top of the bowl while drawing on the pipe can also settle the ash and tobacco a little like tamping does, too, and make the damping action even more effective.


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## Mister Moo

BigKev77 said:


> Everyone has given advice so I will too. I was told the answer to 99% of problems while learning to smoke and beyond will always be...
> 
> Drier baccy
> lighter pack
> tamp less
> smoke slower
> 
> It worked great for me once I realized that they really meant...
> 
> DRIER BACCY!
> LIGHTER PACK!
> TAMP LESS!
> SMOKE SLOWER!


D'uh huh.


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## BigKev77

Mister Moo said:


> D'uh huh.


Pretty much my exact words when I had that epiphany. :nod:


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## MarkC

A perfectly smoked bowl of tobacco should not need relighting, tamping, ashing, or anything else beyond smoking. If I ever get one, I'll try to remember what I did.


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## Chris0673

Smoked a bowl of Captain Black last night with only three relights! Just used the 3 pinch method of packing. I did have to tamp it several times but thats it. Was kinda nice not to have to keep relighting evey couple minutes.


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